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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Elena Kagan has been appointed to the Supreme Court, and her confirmation hearings are taking place during this fourth of July week. The hearings will bring in information on Elena Kagan's personal life, among other things. Kagan is different from the other justices. She is the US Solicitor General, and is not coming to the Supreme Court from the appellate court system.

Kagan will be Obama's second Supreme Court appointee. His first was Judge Sotomayor, the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice. At first, Kagan seemed like a match made in heaven for the Supreme Court, but now it appears as if there are some worries about her liberal agenda and how that could affect her rulings.

Kagan has no experience on the bench, and if things turn ugly during the hearings Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn't rule out a filibuster.

We all know how those pesky Senate filibusters go, as one totally stalemated the passage of the unemployment extension.

Approximately 42% of Americans have no opinion on whether or not Kagan should be elected to the Supreme Court. She doesn't have any previous rulings to go by for individuals to tell what types of rulings she will make. Most of her career is in politics - so there's uncertainty if she will be able to rule without bias.

Her confirmation hearing comes on the day that the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment right includes the right to own handguns, which means that a handgun ban in Chicago is unconstitutional. The ban has been in place for decades.

Although many are unsure of Elena Kagan, chances are she will be confirmed. If not, many are wondering who else Obama may appoint to the post.